SINGAPORE, Nov 25 — In recognition of their contributions in the fight against Covid-19, all civil servants in Singapore will receive a one-month year-end bonus this year, the Public Service Division (PSD) said.
This is the Annual Variable Component (AVC), which is on top of the one-month “13th month” bonus called the Non-Pensionable Annual Allowance that the Government is paying to all civil servants.
Last year, civil servants did not receive any AVC due to the prevailing economic conditions as a result of the Covid-19 crisis, though they still received the 13th-month bonus.
In a news release today (Nov 25), PSD said that civil servants in the junior grades — equivalent to MX15 and MX16, as well as those in OSS Grades III to V — will receive an extra one-time payment of S$500.
In June, civil servants already received a 0.3 month mid-year bonus.
This means that civil servants will receive a total of 2.3 months’ bonus this year. This does not include individual performance bonuses.
PSD — a division within the Prime Minister’s Office — said that over the past year, public officers here have continued to “dedicate themselves to the national fight against Covid-19, and have worked tirelessly to keep Singapore and Singaporeans safe”.
It also said that Singapore’s economy remains on track for a recovery in 2021.
“The economy expanded by 7.1 per cent on a year-on-year basis in the third quarter of 2021 and the Ministry of Trade and Industry has updated its gross domestic product growth forecast to ‘around 7.0 per cent’ for 2021.
“On the labour market front, resident employment grew more quickly in the third quarter, particularly in outward-oriented industries, and unemployment rates declined for the second consecutive month in September 2021,” PSD noted.
The Government has therefore decided to pay all civil servants a year-end AVC of one month in recognition of the civil servants’ “sustained hard work and diverse contribution” against the backdrop of the economic recovery.
“Taken together with the mid-year payments, civil servants will receive a total of 1.3 months in full-year AVC, with those in more junior grades receiving an additional one-time payment of up to S$1,200 in 2021,” PSD said.
“The Public Service has demonstrated tenacity and resolve in the prolonged battle against Covid-19,” it added.
“The Government deeply appreciates the hard work and perseverance of all public officers in the fight against the pandemic. Working together, we will emerge stronger from this crisis, as a nation.” — TODAY
